Diego Maradona undergoes brain surgery for blood clot

Argentinian soccer legend Diego Maradona has undergone successful brain surgery for a blood clot, according to his doctor.

“We managed to successfully remove the clot. Diego coped well with the surgery,” Dr. Leopoldo Luque said Tuesday at a private clinic in Buenos Aires, Agence France-Presse reported.

“It’s under control, there’s a little drainage (of blood). He’ll remain under observation,” he added.

The 60-year-old World Cup winner and global soccer icon had been taken to hospital in La Plata to undergo tests after feeling ill.

Maradona – who has survived two heart attacks, and also contracted hepatitis and undergone gastric bypass surgery — was transferred to the specialist clinic in the capital after a scan revealed the blood clot.

Luque insisted earlier Tuesday that Maradona was undergoing “a routine operation” as local media speculated the clot was the result of a blow to the head.

“The operation consists of a small incision to drain the blood. In 24 or 48 hours the patient can leave the hospital,” Dr. Raul Matera, a neurosurgeon, told TyC Sports channel.

The former soccer player’s daughter Dalma said she had visited her dad after the surgery but did not provide details of his condition.

“I just want to thank everyone for the constant displays of love for my dad, for my sister and for me, thanks to everyone who prayed for him,” she tweeted early Wednesday.

Maradona, who coaches local club Gimnasia y Esgrima, has difficulty retaining iron due to gastric bypass surgery from 2005 to lose 110 pounds, leaving him prone to anemia, Luque said.

He takes medication in the form of tranquilizers and anxiolytics, according to AFP.

“With a patient on medication, there are times when hospitalization serves to adjust that medication. That’s good,” Luque said.